Curiosity
by Blue Quartz Foxy
Summary: Date Me Entry for August 09. This woman of the Leaf Village was very odd. Luckily for Hinata, Sasori liked odd things. Pre-Shippuden


Curiosity

Title: Curiosity

Author: BlueQuartzFoxy

Rating: T/PG-13

Theme: Thread of Fate

Pairing: Sasori/Hinata

Summary: Pre-Shippuden. She was a very odd creature. Luckily for Hinata, Sasori liked odd things.

Disclaimer: I do not own the anime/manga series Naruto. All characters mentioned in this belong to M. Kishimoto.

--

Like the moon absorbed sunlight to shine; the dull silver of his poisoned tail borrowed light from the moon. It was a lightning-quick flash. The target dodged, more a boon of luck than gift of reflexes; because the returning swing caught her. There was a rip of fabric, a fluttering piece of beige and lavender cloth carried away by desert winds. Another strike. A cry of pain and she faltered on her feet. Weak knees knocked together, before the female collapsed on the sand, holding a hand to her wounded arm.

Blood welled to the cut, she was poisoned already; doomed to die in three days. Still, she didn't give up. Trembling yet moving to stand tall; something in her odd-eyes held a spirit willing to fight on until she was dead on her feet.

From inside his puppet shell Sasori smirked as he pulled yet another lever. _'What fools these mortals be...'_ he thought, quoting from a man nearly as immortal as himself. The difference being, Shakespeare had been dead for centuries. Only his words, his art form, were immortal; whereas Sasori planned to keep on living.

Sand kicked up as the young woman attempted to charge at him. Her body spun in circles, palms charged with chakra, much too slow. Sasori's tail bristled; then while it was straight and stationary, arched in front of him, catching the girl in the gut. Another lever was pulled and the tail lashed, sending the girl flying backward in the sand. Her body was limp following the brutal landing.

The girl's body struggled to get up; but a combination of blood loss, the beginning crippling affect of his poison, and despair, kept her down. Pleased with his work, Sasori turned to leave the girl; let her die within three cycles of the moon and sun. She'd take her last breathe when the moon became a smirking crescent, how poetic.

Distracted by his musings, Sasori didn't notice the large dog until it howled. Pulling the strings to turn Hiruko's head; Sasori's eyes widened as he was met with sharp canine teeth. The animal was amazingly fast. Judging by the size and the viciousness of its' attacks, this was a well-trained nin-dog; not some mangy desert coyote or abandoned pet gone feral.

The dog clamped it's jaws on Hiruko's face mask, causing a hairline crack to form; which only grew wider as the animal desperately clawed and chewed at the opening. Awash in dog saliva and wood chips, Sasori cursed himself for forgetting to make the face plate stronger. He could often battle at distance with his poisons, projectile weapons, and long tail. So, thinking he didn't need to reinforce the face armor, Sasori didn't bother with it.

Now he was seething, angry at himself for missing something so simple. Sasori wasn't beaten though, not by a long shot. His long tail caught the dog by the scruff of it's neck, getting a clean stab into the animal's shoulder.

A whimper of pain; but the white dog still held on, not to be moved when it was so close to extracting it's quarry. With a frown, Sasori extended his tail, brought it around to the dog's blind spot; hitting the animal with such force, it was knocked loose just like the girl before.

The dog yelped, it's body rolling to a stop less than a foot away from the defeated kunoichi of the Leaf. When the animal stopped moving, Sasori felt it was finally safe for him to depart. Then, a groan came from the young woman. From the corner of his eye, Sasori saw her push up on shaking arms. Despite standing on shifting stand, she managed to gain some leverage and stand, if on wobbling legs.

Pale eyes squinted in the darkness, a gasp coming from her, and Sasori heard more sand being kicked up. Yet, instead of her moving to attack him, she was by the dog's side.

"Akamaru..." she whispered, "Akamaru! Wake up...s-so much blood..."

Sasori heard the ripping of cloth. Despite himself, curiosity won over. A manipulation of strings and Hiruko's head turned slightly, allowing Sasori's to look over broad and hunched shoulders. The girl had torn the damaged sleeve of her jacket and was attempting to move the large dog to wrap it's wound.

"Why are you doing that?" Sasori asked.

The girl didn't stop to answer him, pale hands a blur as she tore fabric into shreds; attempting to position the large animal for easier access to his bleeding shoulder. Sasori of the Red Sands, did not enjoy being ignored. His footprints were deep in the sand, yet Hiruko was fast; behind the girl before she even had a chance to register he was there, not until the tail tip was held against her neck.

"Answer me, woman of the Leaf. Why are you helping this creature? You can strip naked and use all the clothing to stopper the bleeding, all you want. He'll still die in three days."

Sasori smirked at her shivers, small noises coming from the girl's open mouth- little groans of pain she was attempting to suppress.

"He will die underneath the hot, hot sun. Writhing in pain, dying of thirst yet unable to drink without drowning; unable to cry for help. And so will you." the underside of his tail rubbed against her pale neck.

Such pretty pale skin. A rare prize out here in the desert; where you either tanned and gained thicker skin through callouses. Or wilted away, constantly suffering from the heat. Sasori saw her swallow; hands shaking even as they went through the mind-numbing busy work of tending to the dog.

It was getting late. At this rate, Deidara would end the information gathering and leave without him. Sasori had played with her enough.

He could have ended the woman's suffering there, his tail was close enough to knock her head clean off narrow shoulders. But, Sasori was proud of his poison-crafting, he wanted the vile liquid to do his dirty work. Besides, if he killed her with his tail or any other weapon; Sunagakure would be blamed for the murder of a Konoha kunoichi. If she and the dog died of poisoning, they'd only find evidence of scorpion venom. Natural causes, no reason for alarm; people died in the desert all the time, even shinobi.

If he gutted her; Sasori knew both Hidden Villages would be on high alert for weeks, trying to find a murderer, since they were allies. Or, there would be an out break of war. Either outcome would make it more difficult to reach the Kazekage when the time came to collect his demon.

Retracting his tail, Sasori turned to walk away. The woman exhaled, only to suck it in again as her body was wracked with tremors and pain from the poison. The poison seemed to be working quicker than most. It could have been because she was so small and slight of frame, Sasori was used to taking down larger prey. Or maybe the chill of the desert evening, had already compromised her. Whatever the reasons, Sasori didn't care; so long as she died cleanly, leaving no trace of himself behind.

Leader wouldn't be pleased if his and Deidara's mission failed; simply because a unknown girl from the Leaf, caught him snooping around the outer walls of the Hidden Village. It was her own stupid fault, for being in the desert, at night, where she did not belong. Sasori was seven feet away from the girl and the dog, before a kunai sailed over his head.

Blinking rust-colored eyes, Sasori turned Hiruko's head once more. The woman was standing, or rather attempting to, her body was fighting every step of the way. Yet, she pushed forward, more kunai in her hand. Her aim was terrible, but Sasori was more amazed she was still standing. The sweat along her upper lip and dripping down her neck, meant she was already at stage two of the poison's side effects.

"T...th...the antidote...please?"

Sasori almost laughed. She was...asking...politely...for the cure to her aliment? Deidara would have enjoyed this, his laughter would have carried far and wide across the desert. Though amused, Sasori was also intrigued. This woman was...odd. And Sasori of the Red Sands liked odd things.

"To save yourself...or save the dog?" he asked.

Pale and nearly opaque eyes went wide, "I..."

"I'll only give you one antidote." Sasori said with a hidden smirk, "So, choose who you want to save. Yourself or the dog?"

It was a elementary answer. Any human with an ounce of self-preservation, wouldn't hesitate to answer. Themselves. They always wanted to save themselves. Selfish little rats.

"I...o-only one?" she repeated, voice soft and quivering as her teeth started chattering against the cold and dropping blood pressure.

"Yes. Only one. Pick." Sasori said, his tail lazily swishing from side to side. She would answer, herself. Any human would, any shinobi worth their salt would. They had to live on to be weapons, servants to their Kage and their village.

Once she answered, Sasori knew he'd walk away, laughing at her expense. The woman could try to hunt him down, to fight him for the antidote. But, the advancement of the poison and lack of knowledge of the desert, would be her undoing.

"Ak-Akamaru. I w-want to give the antidote...to Akamaru."

The puppet master's eyes narrowed behind his cracked mask, "You're lying."

The woman crumbled to her knees, overwhelmed with fever sweats and muscle weakness.

"N-no... Akamaru...he has a master...m-my teammate. Kiba-kun would n-never forgive me...if I let Akamaru die out here."

What sort of idiots were these Konoha nin? To value a dog, an animal which never lived as long as human no matter how well trained and cared for; over the life of a fellow shinobi or one's own life?

"You...are a filthy liar. I would almost forgive it, if you were passable at deception." Sasori accused.

Shoulders heaving, it was getting harder for her to breathe, a tongue skimming dried and chapped lips.

"I...I'm not lying. Akamaru..." she collapsed face down in the sand, drifting off into a painful force sleep.

–

Her body was burning up. Fighting back with all her might, Hinata gasped for air; but each gulp in felt like the stabbing of a thousand needles to her lungs. She wanted to cry out, but nothing came but choked groans. Her eyes were so dry, yet they wouldn't open to blink nor could she cry because Hinata was too dehydrated. Why did she think of something so stupid as taking a walk in Sunagakure? In the middle of the night?

Her team had been assigned to track down some shady merchants trying to smuggle illegal goods into Konohagakure. However, they came up against a Sunagakure team commissioned to protect the supposedly suspect caravan. Their villages were in dispute as to who was lying, who was to get the commission, and who would go home empty handed.

Team Eight were forced to room in a small inn until the matter was settled by the Kazekage and the Hokage through letter exchanges and interrogation of the clients. Hinata recalled being unable to sleep earlier that evening, so anxious and restless.

Not wanting to bother her teammates and sensei with her pacing; Hinata slipped out, thinking she'd be okay inside the gates of Sunagakure. However, she spotted a hunchbacked elderly man walking the walls, running his hands over the flagstone.

A whisper of Byakugan and Hinata's suspicions grew as she saw the man had TWO bodies. One was worn as a sort of shell, while inside there was a smaller being pulling levers and tugging strings.

She had gotten too close. The stranger first pinned her to the ground with his tail; then dragged her away when Suna guards were alerted by the sound of fighting. Forced to go along, Hinata fought back when the man with two bodies tried to kill her. At first, the young woman thought she had dodged the worst attacks. But, after what he said...about the poison, Hinata realized too late that she had failed.

To make matters worse, Akamaru followed her; whether on Kiba's orders or the dog's own protective instincts. Now he was hurt and poisoned too. Hinata wasn't sure why she asked the man for the antidote. Maybe the poison had addled her senses into believing he'd give it to her.

Stupid, she knew. He did ask her to choose though. Hinata did think about it. She didn't want to die, not here, not in Suna, not when she still had so much living to do. People to meet. People to see again. Things to say. Points to prove. And...she wanted to live. Then, Hinata thought how Kiba would react at finding out his best friend was dead.

Hinata didn't want to die; but she didn't want Kiba-kun and Akamaru to suffer either. Not when they were always protecting and looking out for her. Plus, Hinata reasoned if Akamaru recovered, he could go back to Kiba-kun and tell them where she was. Maybe...the team could get her to a hospital in time. Without the antidote though, neither of them would survive long enough to get help.

The man called her a liar and refused to give the antidote. Despite herself, it was an impossible hope to begin with; Hinata felt like crying, she was so deep in despair. Yet, rather than give in and bawl like a helpless child, she resolved to fight off the poison.

Hinata knew it was a losing battle; but if she could manage to hold off...what was that?

Hinata flinched as something cold dripped onto her face. Her face was paralyzed, so she couldn't open her mouth to taste the liquid. It felt like...water.

"Get up, you have to drink this." a deep voice grunted.

Hinata couldn't move, so after a moment the young woman felt her body forcibly being propped up. A strong hand grabbed underneath her jaw, forcing Hinata's mouth open. Liquid was poured in. In a panic, worried it was even more poison, Hinata tried to spit it out. But the hand forced her mouth closed, the liquid swimming behind her teeth.

"Swallow it." the grave voice ordered.

Unable to do anything else, Hinata swallowed all the while afraid she would die instantly now. Eased back, Hinata was made aware she was sitting against a rock now. Someone had moved her, if only a few feet since there weren't any rocks where she was before.

Slowly, her senses came back. Feeling in her fingers and toes, then it slowly moved over her body like a warm pin-and-needles sensation, almost as if Hinata had slept wrong and was now waking up with sore muscles, yet was alive if a bit uncomfortable.

"You should be feeling better..."

Hinata expected to turn her head and find a good Samaritan; only to be surprised to see the man with two bodies standing over her.

He stared back, the false eyes of his mask slowly falling away, revealing dark red eyes underneath.

"What's your name?"

"W-w-why do...you want to know?" Hinata asked while reaching for her weapon holster on her leg, only to find it empty.

"I have them." the man said, "Now, answer the person who spared your life. What is your name?"

"Where's Akamaru?" Hinata shot back, suddenly emboldened, only to recoil as the man with two faces glared at her.

"I left the dog to die...what are you doing?"

Hinata grunted, pushing herself against the rock though found it difficult to stand even as the poison drained away.

"Give me the antidote...I...I have to treat him."

He snorted in response, "So impatient and rude. Are all children like you at this age?"

"Y-you...ask a lot of questions." Hinata muttered.

"Curiosity...is my weakness. I have to know what makes things tick. People especially. Most of the time, I can peg a person just by looking at them. I know their habits, their thoughts, and fears; long before they're aware of me." the man said, slowly pulling parts away from his crumbling face.

"You are...a very strange creature, Woman of the Leaf Village."

Holding the pieces of his 'other' face in his hands, he looked up. Hinata was very surprised to see the face of a young man. The deep voice and hunched body made her think he was much older. Which is why he looked so suspicious touching and examining the walls of Sunagakure. If he had been a guard, Hinata would have thought he was simply checking for weak points and cracks to be fixed. But an old man, surveying for imperfections in the wall, in the middle of the night? It hadn't added up to Hinata.

"Though I guess...curiosity is a weakness of yours too. Otherwise, you would have never been so foolish, to approach me in the first place." Sasori mused, almost as if he was reading Hinata's thoughts.

Hinata blinked, then looked away; hands clenched by her sides. Now she was trapped and couldn't get this strange man to give her the antidote.

She saw a shadow fall over her, yet Hinata still didn't look up; even when a hand with very odd finger joints cupped her chin.

"Answer me, now. What is your name?"

He really wasn't going to let this go, was he?

"H-Hyuuga...Hinata." she uttered.

"Hn," the man sat back on his heels, Hinata noticed he was much...smaller than before. Then looking to her left, she saw the outer body had been shed; much like a snake wiggled out of it's skin.

"Scorpion...actually. They shed exoskeletons too." he said, spooking Hinata into turning around to face him.

Could he...read minds?

A smirk on a such a boyish face, so wooden and lacking in smugness or superiority. It gave Hinata chills.

"No, but it's a common metaphor to think of my second body as snake skin. I told you, I'm good at figuring out what makes people tick. While I predict everything you'll think or say; I've already got a fairly good grasp on human nature."

He didn't look human. The fingers had far too many joints. His expression was too smooth and controlled, even for the most expert shinobi.

"W-what about you?"

"What about me?"

"You...you never told me your name..."

"And I don't plan to. Why are you in Sunagakure?"

"You a-already asked me a question." Hinata interrupted, shivering a little cold without her jacket and scared of this man. Yet for being frightened, she wasn't about to bullied either.

"And I have more questions. I could go all night and still have more to ask. But..."

He pulled out a vial, from the pocket of the tattered black cloak, "if you want this. I suggest you cooperate and answer my questions."

'The antidote?" Hinata asked, reaching for it, only to have the man clasp his strange hand tightly around it; nearly crushing the glass.

"You want this...for your mutt? Answer me then. Why are you here?"

Hinata kept silent. It was against shinobi code to reveal the objectives of a mission, especially to an enemy. He had attacked her first and was withholding the cure for Akamaru.

He could apparently interpret her silence though, "A mission then. I won't ask what it is, you probably won't tell me and that will get us nowhere."

'Us?' Hinata questioned to herself. What had changed for this man to refer to two of them as 'us'. Hinata was liking this situation less and less.

"How old are you?"

"F-fifteen."

"Hn, still a baby, would have been horrible for you to die out in the desert so young. Then again, maybe that would have been a favor. You're still doomed to die by the sword of your enemy, disease, or old age, anyway. At least when you die young, you remain beautiful...if only for a short while."

"W-why...?" Hinata tried to ask, but the kidnapper shot her a look.

"I'm asking the questions here. You may ask...one question, but only when I'm done."

Hinata bit her tongue, she didn't have time to stay and play twenty questions. Akamaru was out there suffering from the poison. He had dragged her off fairly far away, if Hinata couldn't even see the white dog's large body.

The young woman answered the stranger's questions. He didn't ask many personal questions, or gathered information about her team, Konohagakure, or anything important really. Random questions, with seemingly no point to them. Almost like...he was delaying her on purpose for some reason.

Hinata felt gripped by fear. What if Akamaru died before she could reach him with the antidote?

Then all of this would be for nothing.

As if sensing her fear, the man turned her head, facing him again.

"One..." he held up a finger, "last question. If I agree with your answer, I'll not only let you go; but you can leave with the antidote for your mutt."

Breathe caught in her throat, Hinata looked the man in the eye, trying to search for signs of deception. It was a hopeless cause though, she wasn't good with detecting lies in people's faces. Yet, Hinata had a feeling Neji and her own father; walking lie detectors themselves, would have trouble reading him too.

Since she was unable to discern the truth, Hinata swallowed thickly then nodded; resolved to listen intently and answer this question to best of her ability.

"How do you view art?"

Pale lavender eyes blinked owlishly, "How..."

"...do you view art? What do you see...when you look at a priceless painting? A statue? A wood carving? What is your philosophy on art?"

"I...I...really don't have...a philosophy on art." Hinata said honestly. The Hyuuga clan was a practical one. Decorations were kept to a minimal, all of which bore the clan's seal or something relevant to the history of the Hyuuga family.

"Wrong answer..." Hinata watched in horror as the man clenched his fist, she heard the cracking of glass.

"W-wait! Don't...please...give me another question! I'll give you a b-better answer."

"Too late."

"Stop!" Hinata reached over, grabbing the man by the wrist, trying in vain to pry his fingers apart. Of no effort of her own, the man's fist opened, dropping the vial to the sand.

"Why is this so important to you? It's just a dog. He'll die long before you're old and gray."

Hinata exhaled the breath she was holding. The man had a hand over the antidote, keeping it away from her, yet he wasn't crushing it.

"Why? B-because...he's part of my team. He might be 'just a dog' to you; but Akamaru...is special to me. To my teammate."

He snorted, obviously not finding her answer to his liking. Hinata feared he'd try to crush the vial again and let the precious antidote drip into the sand.

So, Hinata was surprised when he spoke again. "Why make such worthless bonds? Relationships...never last. Humans, pets, nothing mortal lasts forever. You are wasting your time, your energy, your emotions. Your everything is poured into things and beings which are temporary; only for you to lose them in the end. Why bother? What is the point? The purpose?"

Thinking this is honestly her 'last' question Hinata glanced up, looking the man in the eye.

"W-we...make worthless bonds, because we are...human."

–

His voice cracked at the rambling question, for that Sasori was ashamed of himself. He did not show emotion like this. He was a puppet, a tool crafted by his own design. Nothing could touch him.

Then this girl; with her too pale skin, too long hair, and stuttering mouth, spoke to him; answering the rhetorical question.

"W-we make worthless bonds, because we are...human."

Implying he was human too. He wasn't human. He, Sasori of the Red Sands, was eternal; made more of wood, string, and weapons than anything. He didn't feel a need for these bonds. The implication made that he was weak, temporary, and easily forgotten like a human being, like her; made him inexplicably angry.

Sasori wanted to choke her, maybe poison the woman again and let her rot in the sun. He'd stay to watch too. His anger was a waste though, just like this girl's ties to the worthless dog.

Clutching the vial, Sasori gritted his teeth, he had already spent too much time here, with her. Such a maddening curiosity before, now all he had left was anger.

"Take it and go. Do not tell anyone you saw me. And pray we never cross paths again." Sasori spat out, disgusted with himself.

Gathering the pieces of his mask, Sasori's right hand glowed with chakra, putting a brief sealant on the mask of Hiruko and putting it back in place. He then walked back to the puppet armor, only to see the girl still laying there in the sand, holding the vial and looking at him.

"What are you waiting for? Go." he snapped.

She stood, then bowed respectfully, "T-thank you..."

For the first time, in a very long time, Sasori wanted to scream. He wanted to take the woman from the Leaf and shake her. He had tried to kill her and the dog; yet now she was 'thanking' him?

It was madness. Utter madness. This is why he did not like being around...people. Though Sasori knew the archetypes, the predicable nature, and the verbal clichés; there was always one out of many which left him scratching his head.

"Um..."

"You still haven't left yet?" Sasori said, his voice a near growl.

"I...s-seem to be stuck on you..." she muttered.

Sasori lifted his head, the young woman had a point. A long strand of red puppet string; what he had used to sew up her wound earlier, was laying between them.

"Hn," with a tug he severed the thin crimson cord. Stupid him for fixing her, forcing the antidote into her, then wasting him time on this one. She was nothing. Something temporary, here one moment, then nothing but dust and ash the next.

He would live forever, long enough to laugh at her corpse.

She didn't seem to understand that though; because the woman bowed again and would have thanked him too for healing her wound; but Sasori gave her a stern warning not to.

Not long after the woman was gone, Sasori walked the desert. It was nearly dawn when a shadow fell over him.

"Oi! I think I spy an ant below us, un. I think I'll squish it..."

Sasori gritted his teeth, about time. Deidara had kept him waiting around forever.

"You're late."

"Sorry! Ran into some trouble, took care of them though, disposed of the bodies too."

"Idiot, the last thing we need is to draw attention ourselves." he grumbled while boarding the grounded white bird.

The blond haired boy snorted, "Relax, they were civilians, not a shinobi in sight. Buried them so deep no one will find them till their bones are bleached."

Sasori strangely felt...relieved at that knowledge. For a second, he thought Deidara had encountered the girl's team and dog and disposed of them. Not that he actually cared if the girl or her team died. Sasori simply didn't want any problems with the upcoming capture of the One-Tails.

"Let's report back to Leader. He's probably pissed that we're late getting back."

"Hey! I told you it wasn't my fault, un."

–

Weeks went by, the issue was resolved by the merchants being exposed as smugglers; yet in a ironic twist, the customers of Konohagakure weren't quite on the up and up either. No one gained a commission; but at least conflict between the allied villages was avoided.

Akamaru's recovery while slow, was a full one. As for herself, Hinata was just grateful to make it out alive. Shifting uncomfortably on the examination table, Hinata looked at her arm. There was a faint scar where the tail tip caught her. It had mostly healed, now all that remained was ripping out the red string used to bind the wound.

The door opened, causing Hinata to glance up then smile faintly as Sakura entered the room.

"Hinata? What are you doing here?"

"Um...I came for a check up...I was injured on a mission a few weeks ago. Sunagakure?" she offered, hoping something would ring a bell to Sakura or maybe something was in the record.

Hinata would rather not repeat the lie she told to her team and the first nurse, who saw her upon their return.

A snake bite. Hinata had tried to drain the poison by cutting her arm and letting the poison bleed out. A kind stranger came by, bound her and Akamaru's wound then force-fed them snake venom antidote. When she woke up, he was already walking away.

It was a terrible and complicated lie, but Hinata felt a little bit afraid to tell everyone the truth. She still wasn't sure if Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, and Kurenai-sensei had bought her explanation.

Sakura apparently did, probably because it was now a part of Hinata's medical records.

"Yep. Sounds like you had a nasty time out there."

Hinata nodded in agreement, glad her story was passable enough to make the records.

Extending her arm, Hinata watched Sakura's pale green eyes grow wide.

"Is something wrong...Sakura-san? It's not infected...is it?" Hinata asked, a bit worried. She had been checking on the wound daily and applying salve and antibiotics when necessary, still the Hyuuga wondered if her efforts were enough.

"Actually, apart from the crude stitching, this wound looks pretty much healed. I'll have to cut out the string though, otherwise it will be tougher to remove when the skin heals over. And you don't have to call me that by the way."

Hinata blinked, "Sakura-san? B-but you're Tsunade-sama's student...I'm...just trying to be respectful."

"Please don't, I'm just a student." Sakura said with a sheepish grin.

Awkward silence fell in the room as Sakura got the sterilized scissors, "This might sting a little..." she muttered before being absorbed in work.

Hinata flinched on occasion, but for the most part stayed perfectly still while Sakura tried to cut away the string.

"This is odd...almost looks like puppet string. Didn't you have your stitches done at the hospital in Sunagakure?"

"Uh no...they were kind of busy; besides someone else did this for me."

"Oh really? Who?"

Biting her lip, Hinata's eyes nervously glanced around the room. She didn't want to lie. Not again, but didn't trust herself to say the truth either. So, she changed the subject.

"It's been almost...three years now."

Hinata felt a small stab to her heart when Sakura smiled brilliantly, fondly even.

"Yeah, Naruto-kun should be back fairly soon."

"...yes." Hinata muttered, not knowing why she felt so heartsick at Sakura's expression.

"I wonder how much he's changed...hope he's matured a little..." the pink haired girl muttered.

"Hn," Hinata replied, not wanting to say anything more.

"There we go! Good as new...well almost. We still need to bandage your arm until the stitches heal." Sakura said before busying herself with looking for a roll of bandages.

While Sakura's attention was elsewhere, Hinata looked at the table to the severed puppet string. It's red string had dulled and became a discolored brown from collecting sweat, dirt, and medicine slathered on the arm.

Just like that...the last thing connecting her to that strange and terrifying man was severed. Hinata felt...strangely disquieted by that revelation.

–

Notes: That's all folks! Not as romantic as I wanted it to be. But, I figure Hinata and Sasori's 'relationship', or what could have been, should to be left up to the reader to think about. I felt odd writing Sasori; he's one of the characters that I don't quite 'get' yet, I like to write him nevertheless. Please forgive me if his characterization seemed OOC and all over the place, I tried my best.

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed reading this.

Until next time, bye!


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